Google is constantly updating their services in order to provide the best possible experience for both users and advertisers alike. This year, they’re continuing with a few Google Ads updates crucial to your overall campaign success. These updates are meant to optimize the user search experience, provide the most relevant ads, and push forward with data privacy trends.
To help you make the most of your next campaign, we’re taking a look at seven Google Ads updates you should know.
Notable Google Ads Updates
Keeping up with Google Ads’ new updates can feel like a never-ending task. To successfully run your campaigns, however, it’s important that you stay on top of the latest changes and trends. As advertising sophistication continues to improve through the advancement of automation and machine learning, you need to know what Google Ads tools and techniques are available for your use.
This year, some of the most notable Google Ads updates coming your way include:
- Changes in keyword matching behavior
- More automation for Display Ads
- Ending expanded text ads (ETAs) in favor of responsive search ads (RSAs)
- Added features for travel ads
- Google shopping campaign updates for ad attributes
- Google Ads API fully replacing Adwords API
- Data privacy and transparency updates
Keyword Matching Behavior Changes
First up on our list of Google Ads updates you should know are changes in keyword matching behavior announced in September of last year. This Google Ads new update concerns improvements to broad match and new rules for prioritizing keywords. Effectively, it’s meant to give advertisers more control over which keywords match to a search query as well as attract high-performing traffic with fewer keywords.
This update, powered by Google’s bidirectional encoder representations from transformers (BERT) algorithm technology, makes it more predictable and precise for broad match and phrase match. In addition to preference being given to broad match and phrase match in the absence of an exact keyword match, Google will also decide what to show based on ad rank and relevancy.
More Automation for Display Ads
While this Google Ads update isn’t the most groundbreaking, it will affect how you go about setting up your ad campaigns. In an effort to make setting up Display ads easier, it has combined standard Display and Smart Display campaigns into one campaign type. It doesn’t mean you won’t be able to choose between the two types anymore, but instead Google has opted to streamline the process by putting all your choices into one campaign type. Once you select Display as your campaign type, you’ll see all the familiar options available to you.
Pro Tip: Don’t forget the powerful capabilities of dynamic display remarketing using Google Ads!
The End of Expanded Text Ads (ETAs)
While expanded text ads (ETAs) have been a long-time option for advertisers on the platform, another Google Ads update you should know is its full replacement with responsive search ads (RSAs). As of June 2022, expanded text ads will be fully replaced by responsive search ads as the default ad type for standard search campaigns. Existing ETAs will be able to continue to run, but advertisers will be unable to edit them.
Responsive search ads allow you to create up to 15 different headlines and 4 different description sets, giving its automated tools the ability to mix and match each for optimized delivery to users. Advertisers also have the ability to pin important headlines or descriptions they want to require to be included in certain ad copy whenever shown.
Google Travel Ads Updates
Next up on our exploration of Google Ads new updates affects travel brands. In short, travel brands will now have more ways to list their booking options as well as use the new “things to do” ad type offering room for more details.
These Google Ads updates come on the heels of the global pandemic and look to help the travel industry boost revenue to get back on its feet. The new “things to do” ad gives advertisers the opportunity to add information on pricing, images, reviews, and more to their ad delivery. Done correctly, this should help travel brands see gains in booking conversions.
Google Shopping Ad Attributes
Begun for the 2021 holiday season, Google Ads updates for shopping ad attributes are giving advertisers more options than ever to provide customers with information like shipping and brand identity. Shipping annotations like “get it by Dec 24” or “free 90-day returns” were extremely helpful letting consumers know more about what they could expect from brands using Google Ads shopping campaigns around the holidays as demands on ecommerce intensified.
Brand identity attributes released in recent Google Ads updates also allow consumers to find products sourced from specific areas, groups, or demographics, as well. For example, brands can register details to allow customers to see them when filtering for attributes such as small businesses or black-, woman-, LGBTQ-, or veteran-owned businesses. Other filters consumers can choose include things like ethical sourcing from cruelty-free brands.
Google Ads API Replacing Adwords API
Set to sunset in April 2022, Adwords API will be fully replaced with the updated Google Ads API. Accounts created prior to April 2021 will need to upgrade, whereas accounts created after then will automatically have access.
What is Google Ads API? Application programming interface (API) lets developers create and utilize applications that interact with their account details on Google Ads. Put simply, APIs help advertisers manage large Google Ads campaigns. For those new to Google Ads API, they’ve provided some resource materials for developers to learn from. In addition to management capabilities, Google Ads API includes faster rollouts of new features and updates for tools like asset management, recommendations, and new ad types.
Transparency and Data Privacy Google Ads Updates
Next on our list of Google Ads updates you should know are transparency and data privacy changes. Continuing the trend towards protecting consumer data privacy and transparent advertising, Google Ads is offering new “about this ad” information as well as progressing more towards 1st-party cookies.
The new “about this ad” feature for Display, Video, and Shopping ad placements allows search users to view other ads a brand has posted in the past 30 days. This helps consumers know if a brand is consistently running high-quality ads, adding to brand credibility.
Highlighting the importance of consumer data privacy, Google is continuing to move away from 3rd-party cookies towards 1st-party cookies for tracking. The 1st-party cookies are created by the domain and are meant to enhance relations between businesses and customers, require proper consent for data collection, and improve data privacy overall for Google search users.
As you can see, there are a number of Google Ads updates happening right now that you should know. Google Ads updates are intended to improve the advertising experience for both businesses and consumers, allowing better ad delivery and performance. Professional Google Ads management services can help your brand stay on top of the newest capabilities while maximizing the effectiveness of your advertising campaigns.
